The Green Knight (Dev Patel, Alicia Vikander, Joel Edgerton)

Slydice

What is this? Where did it come from? Why is it so ominous?

I mean like.. seems to be in the King Arthur universe.. I'm seeing the word Arthurian used in a few places.

Was that a giants hand?! :eek:

but anyhow..

That's like:
- Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire, Chappi and more)
- Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and more)
- Joel Edgerton (Zero Dark Thirty, Bright and more)

Also Ireland's Barry Keoghan!

bnt

It’s based on the Arthurian legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, if that’s any help. This also has Ralph Ineson as the titular knight, and the director is David Lowery.

irish_stevo815

Some of this was filmed in my local town (Cahir Castle, Tipperary) and have been waiting to see what came of it.

Could be interesting with the Game of Thrones/Night King vibes

p to the e

"Honour" with no "u" and "Summer" with no capital "S". Disgusting.

This looks amazing. I'm getting a kind of "Pan's Labyrinth" vibe off of it.

loyatemu

irish_stevo815 wrote: »

Some of this was filmed in my local town (Cahir Castle, Tipperary) and have been waiting to see what came of it.

is that the Burren in the trailer as well?

pixelburp

That looks gorgeous, the locations really adding that dreamlike, mythical feel. Wonder will that stretch to the plot itself. Is this a local production or just Irish locations?

homerun_homer

This looks great, a little tv quality in parts but the tone and the cast and the fact it was filmed here has me very interested. Thankfully it's the reliable A24.

Psychiatric Patrick

I don't do trailers as they spoil movies but Lowrey and a King Arthur story is enough said.

Been looking forward to this.

Just curious though (and I have Googled but fnd no answer) if there has been any controversy over the casting a man of Indian descent in the role of a white man? (yesI know it is all made up )

Or his there evidence that non-whites were living in Britain at the time this movie is set?

pixelburp

This kinda disappeared from the schedules for the longest time; A24 has finally given it a release date ... July 30, 2021 in cinemas. I think that's a US release, so not sure about this side of the pond.

Mr Crispy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sS6ksY8xWCY

pixelburp

Still looks quite mythic. Looking forward to it. Hopefully, the metrics of success are low for the studio 'cos notwithstanding the setting, this kind of film feels like a total throwback.

Mr Crispy

pixelburp wrote: »

Still looks quite mythic. Looking forward to it. Hopefully, the metrics of success are low for the studio 'cos notwithstanding the setting, this kind of film feels like a total throwback.

Yeah, I'm really liking it for that reason. As someone said in the YT comments, it's refreshing to see a modern Arthurian/medieval film do something other than trying to be a LOTR knock-off.

pixelburp

Mr Crispy wrote: »

Yeah, I'm really liking it for that reason. As someone said in the YT comments, it's refreshing to see a modern Arthurian/medieval film do something other than trying to be a LOTR knock-off.

Or, indeed, be directed by Guy Ritchie This seems to be properly tapping into the inherent weirdness of the folklore

silverharp

filmed in Tipp, though 1:18 looks like obligatory shot of Coillte forest Wicklow

Sanjuro

Remember seeing the production down in Wicklow back before the dark times of Coronavirus. Big fan of David Lowery. Really looking forward to this.

p to the e

Really excited for this one. "Pan's Labyrinth" crossed with "Excalibur".

JP Liz V1

Is it getting a cinema release?

johnny_ultimate

This is crappy: pulled from UK (and by extension) Irish release schedules just two weeks before release. THR reporting it could be going straight to streaming, with uncertainty about the COVID shitshow in the UK also cited as a likely factor in the sudden change. Things ain't back to normal yet.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/a24s-the-green-knight-pulled-from-u-k-theatrical-release-1234986617/

Loafing Oaf

https://boards.ie/discussion/comment/117647950#Comment_117647950

What's the rationale here? They're afraid people won't come to the cinema in numbers even if they are in theory open without restriction?

johnny_ultimate

All speculation here, but I reckon the distributor was left with a film they didn't quite know what to do with - and any uncertainty about cinemas in the UK was a good excuse to change plans. The distributor in question (Entertainment) is an odd one at the best of times, so they'd likely find an offer from a streaming platform to take the film off their hands hard to resist.

But we'll see - could just be a temporary delay.

Mr Crispy

Ahh ffs. Was literally just talking to a friend today about going to see this when it opened.

pixelburp

Ah shíte, that's nonsense. It looks spectacularly cinematic, do hopefully just a delay cos it looks made for the big screen. Maybe distributors are trying to maximise revenue with Sure Things , given the climate?

johnny_ultimate

A little more reporting by the trades on this one suggests it was in fact a COVID-related decision, due to the UK's surging cases. Alas, Ireland caught up in the 'Freedom Day' fallout.

https://variety.com/2021/film/global/green-knight-uk-release-date-pulled-1235025640/

Mr Crispy

To make it even more irksome, the first reviews I've seen have been great. 🙄 Is there still a chance this could be picked up by somewhere like the IFI even if it doesn't get a general release?

johnny_ultimate

It depends. The IFI and Light House would of course likely show it if it got a limited release as opposed to a general one, but that would still require the distributor to actually release it.

Individual cinemas wouldn't pick up a film if it doesn't have a distributor - they never showed Snowpiercer, for example, while that was stuck in distribution limbo. I'd imagine if the current distributor drops it (unlikely) it would either be picked up by someone else or sold to a streaming platform. But based on current info we just need to wait until Entertainment bothers to give it a release date one of these months.

very good atmospheric movie.

McDermotX

https://screeningroom.a24films.com/

Streamed screening next week for one night only, US of course, though there are ways around that. 20 bucks.

Hardly the platform it deserves, but an option for some.

speedboatchase

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117735946#Comment_117735946

What a dumb move. Streamed for one night, pirated forever.

p to the e

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117736940#Comment_117736940

I've no problem pirating movies but this one I'm determined to see in the cinema.

Mr Crispy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117735946#Comment_117735946

And bizarrely, A24 have now decided that all the usual VOD platforms will have it a solitary day later. I'd be annoyed had I coughed up for their "exclusive" but time-limited screening, only to find that I could pay less to watch it at my leisure a day later.

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117764627#Comment_117764627

Usual as in Netflix or Amazon or we talking the likes of Mubi?

Sad Professor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117765109#Comment_117765109

I assume US iTunes et al rather than Netflix.

Mr Crispy

According to their Twitter it'll be available "everywhere you rent movies".

pixelburp

Cool; though while it's a shame it'll no doubt pop up on the high seas and pull punters from cinemas, this never seemed like a film destined for box office success either.

Loafing Oaf

I wonder will they even bother giving it a European cinema release after this. Surely anyone this side who really wants to see it will now be able to through 'unofficial channels'...

Fysh

I would pay £10-20 for a premium rental of this to watch at home on my projector if I were given the option, but since some galaxy-brain decided that a region-limited online release is a clever release strategy, I suspect those of us in Europe are going to be left out to dry (High Seas options aside) until the physical release.

Loafing Oaf

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117765669#Comment_117765669

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117783825#Comment_117783825

'High seas', useful addition to my vocabulary!😝

Beechwoodspark

So is there no release date for this yet?

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117783825#Comment_117783825

I would speculate some in the executive level had no idea how to market this, decided it'd be too much of a loss in the cinemas at the moment, and just decided to Palm it off to the digital services.

Sad Professor

No update on EFD(the film's uk distributor)'s twitter account. They still have a tweet from July advertising the film's old release date. I assume if they were going to send it straight to digital they would have done it by now. They may be required to give it a theatrical run and are waiting. It's not unusual for indie films like this to be released several months after the US. Unlike with blockbusters they can generally get away with it too.

Relikk

It's pretty rare that I'm disappointed with an A24 movie, but this is one of those rare cases, sadly. It looks great and the acting is good for the most part. The first 20 minutes and the last 10 minutes are highlights, but everything in between is where it falls down. They're right not to put this on general release in cinemas. I don't believe it'd do very well with the average moviegoer.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117796405#Comment_117796405

I couldn't really understand the excitement for this? A made up story about a green knight in Camelot? Whip dee do!

So this cynicism is probably to blame for me turning it off after 5 mins. But I have other reasons. The dialogue intro was incoherent and over long, mumbling in the last few sentences so I had no concept of wtf was supposed to be going on. When it moved to the scene of Patel getting dressed with this fast cut editing was enough to tell me this was going to be formulaic dog s* . Obviously I can't claim the movie was crap overall, but these days the first 5 mins can tell you a lot. Probably should have been more open minded going into it but I'm pretty sure my instincts were right

johnny_ultimate

Some good news: not only has this finally gotten a UK / Ireland cinema release date, it's actually just a few weeks away on September 24th.

Even better news: it'll be released on Prime Video on the same day.

Not a bad outcome - still would have been great to catch it on the big screen in August as previously planned, but hey weird times and all that.

https://variety.com/2021/film/global/green-knight-uk-amazon-theatrical-1235034716/

pixelburp

Nice. I'd love to see it on the big screen and it looks 100% like something worthy of that canvas, but baby + CoVid so it's just too soon. The simultaneous release on Prime is great for me so, even if it feels like it'll further eat into its potential at the box office (though maybe given it's art-house pretensions it'll do better online than in the cinema)

Need a Username

Is this getting a cinema release in Ireland?

I emailed my local cinema becausr they didn’t have it listed and they told me they had booked it but that Lionsgate had withdrawn it from theatrical release.

johnny_ultimate

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117935127#Comment_117935127

Well given I watched in an Irish cinema (Light House) a few hours ago… yes it is out in cinemas :)

Also on Amazon Prime as of today.

pixelburp

Yup, just finished it there now. Jaysus. Going to have to think hard on this one; this may be a real marmite film, people either loving the abstraction or enraged by it.

brevity

Watched it on prime this evening. Hoo boy is it a trip. Looks beautiful, some amazing scenes…letting it wash over me at the moment. I really liked it.

Electric Nitwit

Thanks for the heads up that it's on Prime johnny, straight to to the top of my to-watch list

Shame it's not getting a decent cinema run, but from a selfish point of view it's great as young kids make it difficult for me to get to the cinema myself

johnny_ultimate

First things first… it’s been a while since I’ve seen Ireland looking so well on screen! As someone who has always lived near the Wicklow / Dublin mountains, this really captures the sort of haunting isolation (with a dash of desolation for good measure) you experience if you go for a wander in the woods or the mountains. This is a film that really has an earthiness to it, thanks to the eerie filter this puts over familiar landscapes.

It’s a looker on the whole - very modern in its compositional decisions, but with some very striking surreal imagery always adding extra spice to proceedings. It’s relatively rare for fantasy imagery to be properly mysterious in cinema, particularly American cinema. But this does an excellent job: the careful mix of special effects, art design and the aforementioned earthiness really capture the mystical, eerie nature of folklore and epic tales that’s often neglected.

It also thankfully channels the episodic nature of such tales. This film is at its best as a series of odd, ghostly and elliptical encounters with various spirits and odd folk. It’s instantly intriguing when a crazed Barry Keoghan shows up, or when some seemingly kind characters with bizarre, even unknowable motivations complicate the quest.

I was certainly less engaged by the unhurried setup in the first act (although the Green Knight himself is an incredible creation), but thankfully the final act is an excellent, smartly directed conclusion. Patel is good, but there’s often not a whole lot to latch onto when he’s on his own (thankfully there’s a fox companion to liven things up 🦊). But generally I found this quite the beguiling watch: once the film settles into its main rhythm, I was always intrigued by what lay ahead. I’ve had mixed thoughts on most of David Lowery’s previous films (I’ve liked most without loving them), but I’d say this is his most satisfying to date - it has the arthouse sensibilities of A Ghost Story, but also has learned lessons from Pete’s Dragon (itself a more grounded, ‘earthier’ take on a modern children’s film).

I’m glad it did get a cinema release in the end - not just because its striking visuals deserve a big canvas, but also because its cavernous soundscape sounds really impressive over a good theatre setup. But given current circumstances, also great that it’s available to stream in 4K simultaneously :)

pixelburp

Dreamlike: and like a dream, both intoxicating and maddingly abstract at the same time. Never less than beguiling, but anyone looking for a straightforward, linear adventure of old Arthurian times best look elsewhere. 

To the positive, this was a fundamentally beautiful film; no single moment ever less than striking, the visuals conveying Anglo-Saxon myth in the manner of something more earthy, more primordial than what we tend to get in this genre. That of a period before even legend itself. 

But within those moments of evocative, sensual imagery was a narrative more like a string of disconnected vignettes; a shaggy dog story dawdling towards what we know would be Gawain's true fate after his poorly thought moment of bravado. Dev Patel once again held the film together with an understated performance, but I wished there was just a little more to his story, a bit more heft and structure.

Oh and agree with Johnny's remarks about Ireland. It's a while since it has looked so handsome on screen; some spectacular use of local landscapes and locations.